Rolling mill



Feb. 5, 1.946. J. H. JACKER ETAL 2,394,183 l' lROLl-.JING MILL v Filed Oct. 6. 1943 .'5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 5, 1946.v J. H. JAECKER ETAI. 2,394,183

` ROLLING MILL Filed Oct. 6, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vnemn.. ow A Nm. .m wm,

. INVEN TR.

HTTORNE Y? U I F L u. |.Jl |||H|J` n f .HH h Iml W am m ww sw Feb. 5, 1946. J. H. JAECKER l-:T AL

ROLLING MILL 'Filed ot. e, 194s 3 sheets-sheet s Patented Feb. 5, 1946 ROLLING MILL i John H. Jaecker, Massillon, and Howard J. Find* ley. Shaker Heights, Ohio,.assignors to The Eaton Manufacturing Company,

Cleveland,

Ohio, a.y corporation of Ohio Y Application october c, 1943, serial No. 505,138

(c1. sei- 34) 11 Claims.`

This application relates to rolling mills and more particularly to an improved form of mill with which wire stock can be eiiiciently rolled to a desired size and cross sectional shape.

One ,of the uses for's'uch rolled stock is the manufacture of lock washers and when used for this purpose, it is desirable that the stock have a quadrangular cross sectional shape in which one or more sides are inclined so that the stock has a tapered cross section. Heretofore in the rolling oi such stock, the desired taper has been obtained byV using rolls having their peripheral faces ground to the inclination of the desired taper or bevel. However, the use of rolls of this kind has numerous disadvantages which the present invention seeks to overcome. :Among such disadvantages is 'the fact that when the taper of the stock is to be changed, the rolls must be dismounted and their surfaces ground to the new taper angle. This involves la considerable amount of -labor and de-` creases the life of the rolls and also interrupts production operations.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved rolling mill of this character having rolls of novel form and novel roll mounting means enabling the rolls to be readily shifted to different inclined positions according to the shape and taper desired for the stock being rolled. y Another object of the invention is torprovide an improved rolling mill of the character mentioned, in which individual electric motors are employed for driving the respective rolls. A

Still another object of this invention is to provide anv improved rolling mill of. the character referred to; having a group of disk-like rolls and in which the rolls are relatively inclined and each roll has an undercut side-face extending into partial overlapping relation to the working face of an adjacent roll.

'Ihe invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting inscertain novelcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andparticularly set out in the 'appended claims.

' In the accompanying sheets of drawings: I Fig. 1 is afront elevation showing a rolling mill vconstructed according to the present invention.

'frame I0 and a group of four cooperating rolls I I, I2, I3 and I4 ofnovel form and disposedso that their peripheral work-engaging faces dene av quadrangular pass I5 for the stock yS being rolled. rIhe frame Ill is here shown as being an Vupright quadrangular plate or slab having a centralopening I6 for passage of the stock there'- through. The rolls are driven in a novel manner by individual electric motors I'I, as explained in greater detail hereinafter, and a novel mount I8 is providedl for each roll lfor mountingfthe same on the frame I0 in a manner to readily permit adjustments of the roll positions for varying the cross sectional shape of the stock being rolled.

As shown in Fig. 2 and indicated above, the rolled stock S- has a Aquadrangular shape and in this instance has two substantially parallel side faces I9 and 20 and two side faces 2I and 22 which are relatively inclined so that the stock hasa desired taper. With the formtof roll and roll mounting means to be hereinafter described,v the cross sectional shape ofthe stock can be varied by shifting one or more of the rolls so as to change the relative inclination thereof. `Ordinarily in the use ofour mill the stock or wire is initially I I a, I2d, I3a and Illa.. Each of the rolls is mounted on an enlarged section 24 of a drive shaft 25 which. is supported in a pair of lspacedloearings 26. lThe .rolls are .\dispos`ed,in an annular or starlikev group's'uch that the axes of the shafts. 25 lall lie substantially ina common plane which is' substantiallyparallel to the plane of the plate orslab Ill. The adjacent .portions of the disk-like' rolls extend intoV meeting relation to dene the -pass' l5 and in so doing eachroll extends into 'partial overlapping relation ,to an adjacent roll. Thus. as shownin the drawings, they side face IIb of y the roll Il extends into partial overlapping relataken tion to the peripheral face I21a of the roll I2 and the side face I2b of the roll i2 extends into partial overlapping relation to the peripheral face I3a of the roll I3. Similarly the side face I3b of the roll I3 extends into partial overlapping relation to the peripheral face I4a of the roll I4 and the side face I4b of the roll I4 extends .into partial overlapping relation to the peripheral face IIa of the rst roll of the annular group of rolls.

To permit of the above mentioned shifting of the rolls to vary their relative inclination and to provide an operating clearance between the 'meeting portions of the rolls, the overlapping side face of each roll has a sloping annular recess or undercut 28 therein. As shown in the drawings,

this undercut is formed only in the overlapping side face of each roll and starting at the pey ripheral face of the roll, becomes progressively deeper as the shaft is approached.

The mounting and driving means for the four rolls'l I, I2, I3 and I4 are-substantially identical and, to avoid repetition, we will describe only the mounting and driving means for the roll Il. As shown in the drawings, the mounting'means 'I8 provides three different adjustments for the roll II. Two of these vadjustments are substantially the same as have been provided heretofore in rolling mills of this kind and consist in a straight line substantially edgewi'se movement of the rolls toward and from each other for opening and closing the pass i3. The second adjustment also consists in a straight line `movement by which the rolls can be moved sidewise in the direction of the axes of their shafts 25 or, in other words, a movement at substantially right angles 'to the first mentioned straight line movement. The third adjustment rfor the rolls 'is distinctly `new and provides for a relative rocking or tilting by which the relative inclination yof 'the rolls can be varied for changing the taper of the stock S.

The mounting means I8 by which these adjustments of the roll Il are obtained comprises a yoke or carriage having the spaced bearings 26 thereon, a slide or block 3l which carries the bracket 30 and a second slide 32 which carries the slide 3l. The yoke 30 provides furthe relative rocking movement of the roll, the slide 3| provides for the edgewise straight line closing and opening movement and the slide 32 provides for the straight line movement of the roll in the direction .of the axisof the shaft 25.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the frame or slab I0 carries a plate 33 which is lbolted thereto and has a pairpof dove-tail guideways 34 therein. The slide 32 has a pair oi correspondingly spaced dove-tail projections 35 thereon, which slide in the ways 34 and provide for movement of the slide 32 in a direction to cause the above-mentioned closing and opening movements of the roll. Such movement 'of the slide 32 along the ways 34 is produced by an adjusting screw 35 having a threaded stem engaging in a threaded opening of a projection 3'I of the slide. The adjusting screw 36 extends through, and is anchored in, a projection 38 of the plate 33 and adjacent its head 39 carries a graduated scale 4D which cooperates with a stationary reference line provided on the projection 38. In this instance the screw is anchored in the projection 33 by means of a clip 4I having a forked end which straddles a reduced section 36a of the screw. By rotating the screw 36 in the proper direction it will viinpart a pushing or pullingmov'ement to the slide 32 and this will be transmitted through the slide 3l and the yoke 30 to the roll Il. The extent of adjusting movement imparted to the roll can be observed or measured by the cooperation of the graduated scale 40 with the stationary reference line.

As already indicated, the slide 3l is mounted on the slide 32 and, for this purpose, we provide the slide 3I with a pair of spaceddove-tail projections 44 and provide the slide 32 with a pair of corresponding dove-tail guideways 45 in which such projections slidably engage. The guideways 45 extend at substantially right angles to the guideways 34 of the plate 33. To assist the dove-tail projections 44 in supporting the slide 3l, We provide a retaining plate 46 which engages the -oppositeface of the slide 3l and is connected with the frame or slaib I IJ by clamping bolts 41 which extend through clearance openings 48 inthe slide 3| and clearance slots 43 in the Slide 32.

with a iixed reference line 42.

The slide 3| carries the yoke 3U and to provide for the desired rocking movement of the yoke, we construct the slide 3i with an arcuate bear ing .face 5I and provide the 'yoke with a Vcorrespondingly curvedshoe or base portion 52 which slidably engages Such arcuate bearing face. The yoke 30 has spaced areas which straddle the roll Il and carry the bearings 25 in which the shaft 25 is journaled. Rocking movement .imparted 'to the yoke 30 produces a corresponding variation in the relative inclination of the roll II.

The desired rocking movement can he im parted to the yoke 30 by means of an adjusting screw 53 which is carried by a projection 54 of the slide 3i and which cooperates with'a nut 55 carried by one of the arms of the yoke., The adjusting screw 53 is anchored in a block 56 which is, in turn, connected with the projection 54 by means of trunnions 51 which permit swinging-of the adjusting screw for proper cooperation with the nut 55i The screw 53 is 'anchored in the trunnioned block 56 by means of a clip 53 having a forked inner end engaging a reduced portion 53 of the screw stem. The nut 55 can also be rockably mounted on the yoke 30 by means of trunnions 6U. When the yoke 30 has been shifted by the adjusting screw 53 an extent to produce the desired inclination of the roll I I, the Ayoke can be locked tothe slide 3l by means of the clamping bolts 5I which extend through a slot 62 .in the curved base 52 of the yoke and have theirheads anchored in the slide 3l. The adjusting screw 53 is also provided with a graduated scale B3 which cooperates with a stationary reference line on the projection 54 for indicating or measuring the adjustment of the roll II.

As shown in the drawings, the yoke 30 carries a laterally projecting motor support 65 on which the electric motor I1 is mounted. The motor Il is drivngly connected with one end of., the shaft 25vhy suitable gearing, 'such as a worm fand a worin gear located in a gear casing B3 n'carried by the housingoi the motor. As' seen inl Fig. 1, one of the electric motors l1 is provided .for each of the rolls Il, I2, I3 and i4. These motors can be of any suitable construction and ratingjoi example, they can be direct current series wound motors 'although other types oi motors could te used.

- By providing an individual drivingmotorlfor eachv of the rollsfll, l2, 4I3 andv l4,we,obtain a more satisfactory operation because `thek rollscan operate at different speeds and the speed of Veach roll will be automatically adjusted .according .to the share of the work beingperformedby-such roll. This is a very useful featurein our4` mill because in rolling tapered stock, the Arelatively inclined rolls necessarily cperate'at different-peripheral speeds and if the rolls were all-geared together relative sliding would occur and would probably result in damage to the rolls and Yto the surface of the stock. By using individual driving motors for therespective rolls,` each roll-can operate at its own speed depending upon the amount of stock being broken down or traversed by such roll and relative sliding between the' roll and-the stock is reduced to a minimum.' I f From the foregoingdescription and the --accompanying drawings, it will now be readily-seen, that we have provided an improved form of rolling mill having important advantages over similar mills heretofore employed. It will be seen also that in addition to the novel form provided for the rolls, wel have provided novel roll driving and mounting means by which relative slipping between the rolls and the stock is reduced to a minimum and adjustment of the rolls can be quickly and easily made for changing the taper of the stock or other purposes without necessitating regrinding of the rolls or a lengthy interruption in the operation of the mill.

While we have illustrated and described our improved rolling mill in considerable detail, it will be understood, of course, that we do not wish to be correspondingly limited but regard our invention as including all changes and modifications coming Within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a mill of the character described, two pairs of rolls having opposed peripheral faces of a substantially constant diameter thereacross and engageable with stock to be rolled and having their axes of rotation lying substantially in a common plane` each roll having an annularly extending undercut of varying depth in a side face thereof and contiguous to its peripheral face and being disposed in tilted relation to an adjacent roll with said undercut partially overlapping the peripheral face of said adjacent roll so that the rolls define a quadrangular pass in whichat least one of the angles is other than a right angle.

2-. In a mill of the character described, a group of cooperating disk-like rolls each having a peripheral face of a substantially constant diameter thereacross and engageable with the stock to be rolled and a side face having a sloping annularly extending undercut contiguous to its peripheral face, said rolls being relatively tilted and dis- `posed with their axes of rotation lying substantially in a common plane and with the sloping undercut of each roll partially overlapping the peripheral face of an adjacent roll and with the uncovered portions of said peripheral faces dening a polygonal pass for the stock in which at least one of the angles is other than a right angle.

3. In a mill of the character described, a frame, a plurality of rolls having cooperating peripheral faces engageable with the stock to be rolled, and means mounting said rolls on said frame including carriages for the respective rolls, said frame having arcuate bearing surfaces thereon and said carriages having arcuate shoe portions slidable on said arcuate bearing surfaces to permit rocking. of the carriages for, causing `relatvegtilting of the rolls.

, 4:.n In a mill of the character described, a frame, aplurality of rolls having cooperating peripheral faces engageable with the .stock to be rolled and each. roll having an annularly extending undercut'inna side faCecOntiguOus to its peripheral face and extending into partial overlapping relation with the peripheralface of an adjacent roll, and means mounting said .rolls on said` frame including carriages for the respective rolls, said frame having arcuate bearing surfaces thereon and said carriages having arcuate shoe portions slidable on said arcuate bearing vsurfaces to permit rocking of the carriages for causing `relative tilting of the rolls.

5. In a mill of the character described,.a frame, aplurality of rolls having cooperating peripheral `faces-cfa substantially constant diameter theref across and engageablerwith the stock to be rolled, means mounting said rolls onsaid frame includingcarriages lfor the respective rolls, a motor support on each carriage, and individual electric motors on the supportsand connected with the respective rolls for driving the same, said frame having arcuate bearing surfaces thereon and said carriages having arcuate shoe portions slidable on said arcuate bearing surfaces to permit rocking of the carriages for causing relative tilting of said rolls.

6. In a rolling mill, a frame, a plurality of disk-like rolls having cooperating cylindrical peripheral faces of a substantially constant diameter thereacross and engageable with the stock to be rolled and each roll having a sloping annularly extending undercut in a side face thereof contiguous to its peripheral face, said rolls being disposed in relatively tilted relation with the undercut face of each roll extending into partial overlapping relation to the peripheral face of an adjacent roll and with the uncovered portions of said peripheral faces defining a polygonal pass for the stock, and means mounting said rolls on said frame so as to provide a plurality of adjustments for each roll including carriages for the respective rolls, said frame having arcuate bearing surfaces thereon and said carriages having arcuate shoe portions slidable on said arcuate bearing surfaces to permit rocking of the carriages for varying the relative tilt of said rolls.

7. In a mill of the character described, a frame, a group of cooperating disk-like rolls defining a polygonal pass for stock to be rolled, and mounting means for each roll comprising a slide movable relative to said frame, a second slide movable on the first-mentioned slide, and a carriage on the second slide and rockable relative thereto. said second slide having an arcuate bearing surface thereon and said carriage having an arcuate shoe portion slidable on said arcuate bearing surface to permit rocking of the carriage 8. In a rolling mill, a frame, a plurality of disklike rolls having cooperating cylindrical peripha carriage on the second slide and ruckahle rela# tive thereto.

9. In a nill of v'the oharacter described, a 'group of rolls each having a peripheral face of a substantially 'constant diameter theracross and the rolls of said group being disposed with vsaid faces in cooperating relation to define a pass for Astool: to be rolled, one roll of said group having in a side face thereof an anhiarly extending under-*- cut contiguous to its .peripheral face and said 'one roll being disposed in tilted relation to an adda; cent roll of said group with such undercut por? tion of said side face partially overlapping 'the constant diameter peripheral `f-aze of said ad= jacent roll. v

10 In a mill of the character described, a group of rolls each having a peripheral face of a 'substantially constant diameter thereaoross and the rolls of said group being' disposed 'with said faces iii-cooperating relation to define a pass for sto'ck to be rolled, one roll of said group havi ing in a side face thereof an annular-ly extend ing undercut of varying depth and contiguous to its peripheral face, 'said one Vroll bei-ng disposed'in tilted relation to an adjacent roll of said group with such undercut portion of said side tface partially overlapping the constant diameter .peripheral race of said adiacent roll so that the peripheral Afaces of said one roll and said adjacent roll define an angle other than a right angle.

11. In a mill of the character described, a group of cooperating rolls each being in the form of a disk having a peripheral face of a `Substantially constant diameter thereacross and engageable with the stock to be rolled,'each roll of said group having an annularly extending undercut of varying depth -ina vside face thereof and contiguous to its peripheral fase7 the rolls of 4said groupeeing disposed relative to each other so 'that the undercut side face of each roll partially overlaps the constant diameter peripheral face of an adiacent roll and Aso that the uncovered portions of ysaid constant diameter peripheral Afaces define a polygonal pass for the stock. n 

